To me, the most telling detail in this report of out-of-control police rage is the following tidbit from The Birmingham News blog:
In fact, investigators say, the suspect, Anthony Warren, didn't even know he'd been beaten until the tape surfaced at his trial in March. Warren was ejected from the vehicle and knocked unconscious, and thought all of his injuries were sustained in the wreck.
Imagine a man already so stunned by a car wreck that he was too far gone to realize that he was being beaten with fists, feet and billy clubs. He was probably -- I'm speculating here -- no longer a threat to anybody at this point.
Yes, the suspect led police on a chase. Yes, he apparently almost ran over a police officer (you can see the close call in the video below), but at the time of the beating, he was more akin to a sack of potatoes than to a dangerous felon.
Ultimately, five police officers were fired for the January 2008 beating.
Incidentally, the high-speed, multi-city car chase along busy roads that ended in a messy crash and a career-ending melee began with ... questions about drug use. That's right, police apparently pulled Warren over, started asking probing questions about potential violations of draconian laws against peaceful use of intoxicating substances, and Warren panicked. That sparked the 22-minute chase that endangered motorists, put officers' lives on the line and resulted in the brutal beating of a man so deeply unconscious that he was unaware of the whole thing.
Drug prohibition is all for our own good, don't you know.
email J.D.: civilliberties (at) tuccille.com
You might also enjoy these:
Civil Liberties Examiner is now on Facebook!
Or follow the latest civil liberties news on Twitter: Libertywriter
Comments
Mr. Tuccille you are a jackass. If the peaceful use of drugs leads a man to endanger the police and everyone else on the highway, I think he might deserve a beating.
Police were out of control but until I stand in front of a speeding car who is determined to kill me, I will with hold judgment.
It may be worth losing my job to beat this type of animal.
"no longer a threat"
He will be a threat as long as he in breathing.
While I agree that the police shouldn't have beaten the man, I don't agree with firing five officers. Suspend them for 3 days, and say 'don't do it again'. This was a guy who endangered countless innocent people who presumably HADN'T ingested illegal drugs, and tried to hit one of their fellow officers. That was a clear attempt at murder, and imagine the adrenaline levels in these officers bodies as they try and protect you, me, and even Mr. Tuccille from potentially lethal harm from a substance
Dang, 2/3s of my comment got erased... to long to redo.Let me summarize. ' It was very eloquent and persuasive. Mr. Tuccille would think differently if his daughter were killed by a drug-addled speeder.'
The guy wasn't a drug addled speeder, or even a speeder until he thought he was going to get busted.
Those of you who want to excuse the officers who did this because they were "fired up" and want to characterize this guy as an animal, need to move to another country because that is not how things work in the United States.
Thank God.
This is disgusting, and the cops got off easy with just being fired, they should all be jailed for assault with a deadly weapon.
However, to suggest that drug use and abuse shouldn't be enforced is equally disgusting, especially given today's sickening news of the Bakersfield father on PCP who ate his sons eye and mutilated the other one. drugs and police are equally problematic and MUST be held accountable.
Tod Johnson, so if I beat you up when you are laying down out cold i only have to miss 3 days of work ? wow, sounds awesome ! let's hook up soon !!!
They should have shot him.
Yet another sad-day for the officer that bring
honor to the job. What we should be asking is, are we training officers to be gangers or serve the public.. why didn't one of the other
offices stop this or report the others?
I hate that those policemen risked their hands by hitting him. Use the gun next time. Perp wasn't worth a scratch on their knuckles after he attempted to run over first policeman.
"and want to characterize this guy as an animal"
Sorry, anyone who aims a ton of steel at a police officer is an ANIMAL.
Am I the only one that finds this video to be awesome? Scumbag got what he deserves. Cops should be given a medal if you ask me.
#1 He should have not run from the police
#2 He got everything he deserved, to bad he didn't know he was getting a beating so he could feel the hits (scum bag)
#3 Don't brake the LAW and you won't get beat.
I hate how the word "suspect" is used here... As soon as you run you admit guilt so he's automatically a criminal in my book.
Mr. Tuccille said "peaceful use of intoxicating drugs"
This guy was behind the wheel of a car! People could have been killed.
You defend the criminal and the laws against drugs...
Shame on you.
Correction:
You defend the criminal and blame the laws against drugs...
These men were running on pure adrenalin at this point. Not only due to an incredible high speed chase but also watching one of their own almost become part of the road they are driving on.The average person can't even imagine one day of the pressure and stress that officers in our country at times work under. What would your first reaction be under these circumstances? If anything their training should be reevaluated. As for the a--hole that put so many lives in danger, well he made his bed....
Whats the big deal? Anyone who runs from the police, I have always thought, shoudl get beat to a pulp for endangering the lives of me, my wife, and my children. Oh wait, the loser is black (Which I actually didn't find out till much later, and still felt the same way), I am not allowed to say things like this, otherwise I am considered racist in this country... sorry.
WHy do I get the feeling that if the CRIMINAL (Not suspect) was white no one would have given a rip? But since the guy is black, politicians and race pimps flock to the scene for more power.
In these United States, individuals in government have very specific job descriptions from which they are prohibited to violate. No one is above the law, that is natural law which includes the respect and reactive defense of each individual's equal rights of life, liberty and property, not man made legislation which in most cases violates those rights. Legislation Enforcement Officers are bound by specific job descriptions as well. Retribution is not listed in that description, nor is it thei
nor is it their job to determine what a suspect "deserves." Determining what the suspect deserves is the job of the judge and jury. That is what is supposed to set us apart from less civilized societies - it is that which prevents us from sinking into barbarism.
The police chief said that the department had "terminated 50 years of combined service due to 10 seconds of injustice". Well guess what, TOO BAD. We set up a police state where 6% of our entire nation is locked up in some way in the criminal justice system, police departments demand MORE funding even though we have more police per capita than pretty much any other nation in the world and are in a recession, we enact insanely harsh mandatory minimum sentences for something as ridiculous as drugs,
and then they are surprised when they are in trouble for beating an unconscious suspect? Well you can't have it both ways. They are a bunch of hypocrites. They shouldn't just be fired, they should be locked up like all the poor Joe's they locked up for petty offenses in their 50 years of so called "service".
Good thing this was caught on video. Looks like the police's obsession with more and more technology this time actually led to their own demise and downfall. Well you want a police state, you got one. Do your time officers and quit crying, you got caught.
This guy nearly ran over one of their brother officers. If that was my brother he would have gotten worse than a few punches!
I'll bet there are cops and cop cheerleaders who've never read the Constitution.
"The perp got what was coming to him" is revenge, not the rule of law, which NO one is above, even a cop charged with adrenaline and testosterone. When you stoop to the level of a street mugger, you have dishonored your uniform and badge.
WHY IS IT NO-ONE TRYED TO REMOVE THIS PERSON FROM HARMS WHAY IN THE VIDEO SMOKE IS COMING FROM THE CRASHED VAN POLICE TOOK ALL OF THIS MUCH TOO PERSONALY
I feel torn on this issue. My first thought is that these cops went too far in venting anger. I have seen and heard of cops abusing their power too many times and it has not given me a good perception of the law enforcement officials as a whole.
However, I do hold a harsh opinion about how justice should be served. I believe that when a crime (physical act of violence) is intentionally committed, the perpetrator should be subjected to the same actions they performed on their victim.cont.
This punishment should not be hidden from those who choose to witness it.
I believe this guy deserves much more than the beating he received, but it should also never be the responsibility of the cop to make that decision and deal out the punishment.
People should realize that scum like this will get fat and lazy off the taxpayer's dime living the rest of their life in a prison somewhere. This guy has proven he is not worth the time and effort, but because he is a black man that was beaten by white men, he has been forgiven of his wrongdoings.
What a great deterrent for all criminals! Show this video more! Way to go Cops!
I don't see how people can find this video to be "awesome." Maybe the guy is a scumbag as Geoff so inelegantly states. But the fact remains that the police beat an unconscious man and then tried to cover it up.
When the suspect was in court being charged with all the things he was charged with, the police showed an edited tape that didn't show the part of the video where the suspect was beaten. What they showed was every thing else. The suspect's attorney noticed something was wrong with t
(I guess Examiner cuts off long comments now)....
the tape. The police had edited out the beating. I live in Hoover (it was a Hoover cop that was hit by the suspect). My brother is a detective. I am very sympathetic to what cops deal with on a daily basis. But there is simply no excuse for beating an unconscious man.
Punch him again! Go Cops!
Wow, the level of worship just short of grovelling of these thugs wearing state-issued clown suits is truly mind-boggling! Absolutely pathetic, but completely in line with slouch towards an absolute police state that Americans' complacence has allowed.
My view of this is those cops should be in prison, not just unemployed. Since that isn't going to happen,I would have no heartburn with any other misfortune that might befall them.
If they weren't men enough to do the job properly, and they weren't, they shouldn't have accepted it. If they did this with "50 years of experience", how many times did they do something similar when they were less experienced, weren't taped? I guarantee you people, this isn't their first rodeo. They have done
this crap before. General population in prison would give them plenty of opportunity to give in to their testosterone and adrenaline. Somehow, though, I think they would be able to control themselves.
Save an innocent life....kill a cop today!
AO RAY the only thing you can beat on is your little willy.
Typical cop behavior. 100x this happens and goes unrecorded. trust me.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!